Johnny Handsome

Rating:
Summary: The revenge is a dish that it eats very cold!
Review:
A double crossing in a robbery will sent prison to Rourke and despite these serious wounds will disfigure all his face he will be submitted to a plastic surgeon . Once he is released he will plot the revenge for those who betrayed. This script has been told so many times but Walter Hill knew maintain the internal tension all along the film creating a dark atmosphere thanks to a notable cast and impressive violence images. Watch for Freeman and Whitaker in secondary roles.

One of the best achievements in Rourke's career.


Rating:
Summary: A wonderful forgotten film
Review: 'Johnny Handsome' is one of the finest mystery-suspense films of the past 20 years.Start with Mickey Roarke's performance.Yeah,I know:"Mickey Roarke?""Wild Orchids"Mickey Roarke?But,I promise you,this is "Diner"Mickey,where all the next-great-actor hype came from.As Johnny,a horribly disfigured young man getting by in the worst parts of New Orleans,Roarke is superb.Through a series of bad decisions,he ends up nearly beaten to death on a chain gang,& is saved & given a new face & a new life by a doctor played by Forrest Wittaker.What he does with that chance is at the heart of this film,& worth every second.Director Walter Hill uses the old 30's-40's technique of quick cuts to reactions instead of showing us gratuitous violence.He keeps the pace going without losing track of the plot,a miracle these days.And with a cast also including Ellen Barkin,Lance Henriksen(a Powerful Performance!),and other pros,'Johnny Handsome' is a delight to watch again & again.This is truly a hidden treasure of 80's cinema.Check it out!

Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Underrated movies of the late 80`s.
Review: A Disfigured Criminal named Johnny (Mickey Rourke) decide to help his best friend (Stuart Wilson) to do a Heist to Save his business with the help of two heartless Criminals (Ellen Barkin & Lance Henriksen). When the Heist goes wrong, the Criminals double crossed Johnny & Kills his best friend. Now Johnny is been sent to Prison & nearly died there. A dedicated Doctor (Forest Whitaker) decides to help Johnny & Changes his looks and his life to look like any Ordinary People. Since Johnny is out on Parole, He decides that wants Revenge for his only friend and kill, those who murdered him.

Directed by Walter Hill (Crossroads, 48 Hrs, Trespass) brings out, One of his Best Films. This film is Unique & Eccentric and it`s also Entertaining. Rourke & Morgan Freeman as a Cop brings Terrific Performances in this crime thriller. Whitaker is also good in a Supporting Role. This is a Overlooked today & it deserve a Second Chance. The Late-Gene Siskel, who did praise and loved this film. It`s a Cult Classic to be waiting. It`s one of Rourke`s Best Roles. Fine Music Score by Ry Cocker (Last Man Standing). Based on a Novel by John Godey, which is Originally Titled:The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome. Screenplay by Ken Friedman (Cadillac Man). Grade:A.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Underrated movies of the late 80`s.
Review: A Disfigured Criminal named Johnny (Mickey Rourke) decide to help his best friend (Stuart Wilson) to do a Heist to Save his business with the help of two heartless Criminals (Ellen Barkin & Lance Henriksen). When the Heist goes wrong, the Criminals double crossed Johnny & Kills his best friend. Now Johnny is been sent to Prison & nearly died there. A dedicated Doctor (Forest Whitaker) decides to help Johnny & Changes his looks and his life to look like any Ordinary People. Since Johnny is out on Parole, He decides that wants Revenge for his only friend and kill, those who murdered him.

Directed by Walter Hill (Crossroads, 48 Hrs, Trespass) brings out, One of his Best Films. This film is Unique & Eccentric and it`s also Entertaining. Rourke & Morgan Freeman as a Cop brings Terrific Performances in this crime thriller. Whitaker is also good in a Supporting Role. This is a Overlooked today & it deserve a Second Chance. The Late-Gene Siskel, who did praise and loved this film. It`s a Cult Classic to be waiting. It`s one of Rourke`s Best Roles. Fine Music Score by Ry Cocker (Last Man Standing). Based on a Novel by John Godey, which is Originally Titled:The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome. Screenplay by Ken Friedman (Cadillac Man). Grade:A.

Rating:
Summary: One of Rourke's best performances, and a great movie
Review: Although Rourke has largely disappeared from credible film efforts of late, there was a time when this actor displayed unique talent and REAL charisma. Walter Hill caught one such performance in "Johnny Handsome", a revenge movie about a facially disfigured felon bent on avenging a double cross during a coin heist.

Rourke's character is arrested and eventually imprisoned for his role in the heist, while the double-crossers (portrayed with hyena-like gusto by Lance Henriksen and Ellen Barkin) skip off with the loot. Rourke's character barely survives an attempt made on his life in prison (engineered by Henriksen) that lands him in an intensive care ward. Here he meets with a crusading liberal doctor (nicely portrayed by Forest Whitaker)who arranges for surgery to repair the severe facial deformity. Whitaker's character believes wholeheartedly that the deformity has forced Rourke's character into a life of crime, and their interaction provides for some altruistic moments in this dark tale. Rourke is eventually paroled under the watchful, sarcastic, and unsympathetic eye of Lt. Drones (another good performance by Morgan Freeman)and gets set on a collision course for some payback.

Rourke's performance here (with the exception of his Bukowski inspired turn in "Barfly" and perhaps his performance in "A Prayer for the Dying") represents the best work he has ever done. One of the most compelling scenes in this movie is achieved by Rourke in silence, as he stares into a mirror, marvels over, and then silently displays incredible gratitude for the results of months of reconstrutive surgery; a stand-out moment in this film.

Although I have heard some comparisons of this movie in terms of structure to Shakespearean works and Greek Tragedy, I think it's safer to say "Handsome" is just a great revenge flick. Propelled by a great score (by none other than Ry Cooder)and some good performances by the supporting cast, this movie is a good look at Rourke's abilities as an actor. For that reason alone, the viewer is forced to consider an even more heart wrenching tragedy: What Mickey Rourke did to his career in the years since. . .

Rating:
Summary: One of Rourke's best performances, and a great movie
Review: Although Rourke has largely disappeared from credible film efforts of late, there was a time when this actor displayed unique talent and REAL charisma. Walter Hill caught one such performance in "Johnny Handsome", a revenge movie about a facially disfigured felon bent on avenging a double cross during a coin heist.

Rourke's character is arrested and eventually imprisoned for his role in the heist, while the double-crossers (portrayed with hyena-like gusto by Lance Henriksen and Ellen Barkin) skip off with the loot. Rourke's character barely survives an attempt made on his life in prison (engineered by Henriksen) that lands him in an intensive care ward. Here he meets with a crusading liberal doctor (nicely portrayed by Forest Whitaker)who arranges for surgery to repair the severe facial deformity. Whitaker's character believes wholeheartedly that the deformity has forced Rourke's character into a life of crime, and their interaction provides for some altruistic moments in this dark tale. Rourke is eventually paroled under the watchful, sarcastic, and unsympathetic eye of Lt. Drones (another good performance by Morgan Freeman)and gets set on a collision course for some payback.

Rourke's performance here (with the exception of his Bukowski inspired turn in "Barfly" and perhaps his performance in "A Prayer for the Dying") represents the best work he has ever done. One of the most compelling scenes in this movie is achieved by Rourke in silence, as he stares into a mirror, marvels over, and then silently displays incredible gratitude for the results of months of reconstrutive surgery; a stand-out moment in this film.

Although I have heard some comparisons of this movie in terms of structure to Shakespearean works and Greek Tragedy, I think it's safer to say "Handsome" is just a great revenge flick. Propelled by a great score (by none other than Ry Cooder)and some good performances by the supporting cast, this movie is a good look at Rourke's abilities as an actor. For that reason alone, the viewer is forced to consider an even more heart wrenching tragedy: What Mickey Rourke did to his career in the years since. . .

Rating:
Summary: IT AIN'T PRETTY ARTISAN!
Review: ARTISAN loves to put out lousy substandard dvds and apparantly they think no one either notices or cares. Let's see...SLEEPLESS by DARIO ARGENTO...and this great movie JOHNNY HANDSOME which I WON'T BE BUYING until they put out a decent version. I was gonna buy this today as a matter of fact and immediately put it back when I saw it was full-screen. YAWN...wake up ARTISAN...please!!

Rating:
Summary: Neglected, overlooked minor masterpiece from director Hill
Review: Here's a beautifully crafted, tight little action film from director Walter Hill that does exactly what it sets out to do. Mickey Rourke really looked like he was going to become one our great actors (don't laugh), after coming off compelling roles in "Diner", "Body Heat", "Angel Heart", "9 1/2 Weeks", and "Barfly" when "Johnny Handsome" came out, but unfortunately, it didn't do well at the boxoffice; the quality of his output slid quickly. Here, he's quite convincing portraying a disfigured man who, when given plastic surgery, sees a chance for redemption from his criminal life. He covers a wide range here; it's too bad so few people saw it. McGovern, always so close to becoming an A-list actress, shows again that wonderful combination of vunerablility and sexuality that she excelled in; her chemistry with Rourke is palpable. Letter-perfect direction by Hill, great score by Ry Cooder, and a better-than-expected supporting cast really make this a overlooked gem. Muscular American action cinema at its best.

Rating:
Summary: "B" Movie with "A" Actors
Review: How can you beat this cast? Mickey Rourke, Morgan Freeman, Ellen Barkin, Forrest Whitaker, Elizabeth Montgomery, Lance Henriksen; and since it's a B movie, they all get these great, cheesy lines, and since it's set in Louisiana, they get to use that hilarious Creole-chef, swamp-talkin' accent. I'm a sucker for movies where you get to root for the likeable bad guy, even though you know he'll die in a hail of bullets. Johnny Handsome isn't camp, but it's close. A must-have for Mickey Rourke fans.

Rating:
Summary: Mickey Rourke haunts my dreams in this film
Review: I don't know how many times I've seen this film but each time I watch it Mickey Rourke just gets better. He can out act everyone else on the screen with him with the possible exception of Scott Wilson who plays his friend. Rourke has been a favorite of mine since I saw him in Body Heat and Diner and I have followed his career ups and downs with fasination. Why do I like this film, I used to work at a center for handicapped people and we have a young man who had a similar disfigurement to Rourke's in the movie. He loved movies so I took him often to see his favorites and he loved this movie because Rourke becomes in his words "beautiful." My friend died recently and I miss him and when I see this film I think that MR caught the essence of what it is to be lonley, disfigured and mad at the people who betrayed him. Often I have dreamed of Rourke in this film and I don't quite know what to make of this? But it remains one of my all time favorite Mickey Rourke movies.